[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":64},["ShallowReactive",2],{"term:opportunity-cost":3},{"term":4,"related":55},{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"category":35,"description":36,"extension":37,"faq":38,"meta":42,"navigation":43,"path":44,"related":45,"seo":48,"stem":49,"takeaways":50,"__hash__":54},"terms\u002Fterms\u002Fopportunity-cost.md","Opportunity Cost",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":29},"minimark",[10,15,19,22,26],[11,12,14],"h2",{"id":13},"understanding-opportunity-cost","Understanding Opportunity Cost",[16,17,18],"p",{},"Every choice has a cost beyond the money spent: the best option you did not take. An hour spent studying is an hour not spent working; money used to pay off a loan is money not invested.",[16,20,21],{},"Opportunity cost is central to economics because resources are scarce. It explains why people and countries specialize, and why a choice can be costly even when it seems free.",[11,23,25],{"id":24},"example","Example",[16,27,28],{},"If you could earn $30 an hour but spend three hours cleaning your home instead, the opportunity cost is $90 of income, before any cost of supplies.",{"title":30,"searchDepth":31,"depth":31,"links":32},"",2,[33,34],{"id":13,"depth":31,"text":14},{"id":24,"depth":31,"text":25},"economy","The value of the next-best alternative you give up when you make a choice.","md",[39],{"q":40,"a":41},"Is opportunity cost a real cost if no money changes hands?","Yes. Economists count it because it reflects a real loss of the benefit you could have had.",{},true,"\u002Fterms\u002Fopportunity-cost",[46,47],"comparative-advantage","time-value-of-money",{"title":6,"description":36},"terms\u002Fopportunity-cost",[51,52,53],"Opportunity cost is the value of the best alternative forgone.","It applies to time and attention as well as money.","Comparing opportunity costs explains specialization and trade.","RFQfbUoMkHCE2RhYfaVhIGc9QRYBar07KB6xbszvcGs",[56,60],{"title":57,"description":58,"path":59},"Comparative Advantage","The ability to produce something at a lower opportunity cost than others.","\u002Fterms\u002Fcomparative-advantage",{"title":61,"description":62,"path":63},"Time Value of Money","The idea that money now is worth more than the same amount later.","\u002Fterms\u002Ftime-value-of-money",1793374005558]